I still have the Technics SL-5 linear tracker that I bought back in 1983. I remember it cost $120 for the turntable and $40 for the Audio Technica cartridge.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1675362497.jpg
Tangent tracking Yamaha from the day

Help, I need a rating system here
It looks like the Technics 1200 is great unit .
And I am realy sure that is what I used to have back in the day
so -
There are several sub-categories some with a "G" and others
Will a couple of you music lovers please write out a category in your opinion of the lineup?
like-
Best
near best
middle of the road
etc
etc

thanx !

Mine is also a Technics. I like them. Mine has an Audio Technica cartridge. A Sure cartridge would likely be at least as good.

And you need a good phono stage. Emphasis on "good." For the money, I actually like the Schiit products.

And speakers. Arguably the single most important component of a hifi system.

^Agreed on the Schiit products. Most of my components are Schiit, Mani phonostage (they have an improved v2 now), Aegir amp, Modi multibit dac, and Saga S+ (tube/solid state pre-amp). SOTA turntable and Salk speakers.

afterburn, the ultimate opinion will be yer ears.

Very nice system, Chocoholic!

Take a quick look at the Technics.com/ SL1200 heritage. I think the latest SL1200 G is a better table than the others but also 4x the price. So really depends on what the rest of the system is. I would suggest trying to find at least a very clean mk3 or MK5, info from that site shows the MK3 being from 1989, likely to need work soon enough. I don't think you will hear much difference between the lineup but the electronics likely did get better.

Always looking for vintage gear, I'm using the Yamaha (belt drive for motor isolation) I bought with money I made at my high school McDonald's job, bought an Ortofon at the time and still use it daily. I have an Onkyo solid state, running Polk 5jrs circa 1986, a Yamaha powered sub, and high end speaker wire.

I spend much more money on music than equipment. I think I'm about 700 records in, most all early pressings, but I need to spend more time on discogs for completeness.

I have the first three Black Sabbath pressings on both vertigo and green label. The the fourth is on a pseudo vertigo label.

Did someone say vintage? Bought this new in 1979 and have been using routinely for 40+ years. Recently had it recapped, cleaned and bias adjusted. Now serving duty as the heart of my office system. Us old guys just can’t let go of our youth!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1675551678.jpg

I miss my Thorens when it worked.. now I have two which need repair: A TD160 and a TD124
Someday that TD124 will be up and running.
Using simple Pro-ject turntable with a nice carbon tone arm but it doesn't have auto-shut off (!) which seems like a HUGE engineering over-sight.. or just lazy and cheap on the production side of things, makes me hate it.

Derenville VPM 2010-1

WOW !
What do I not know?
The rabbit hole of amps?

https://rogershighfidelity.com/our-amplifiers/

Next-
Remember when?
Every twn had a sound system store ?
One could go in and try different combinations of sound systems.
Gone.
Now it is just a guess as to what might work for our ears.

I've got Sunfire Theater Grand Pre-amps and 5 x 200 watt Sunfire amp for sale.........pm me for pics before I put them on ebay.

They are still around, there are just fewer and $$$$. Best Buy Magnolia Theater appears to be one of the few widely dispersed options.

Another option is an audio show like the Florida Audio Expo, https://floridaaudioexpo.com/. Still pricey stuff but in no other environment will you get the opportunity to hear so many different systems.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1675699569.jpg

Yamaha C6, M4 with a NAD CD Changer. The Yamaha units have been working great since 1976

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1675699713.jpg
and an original Edison victrola

afterburn 549, prior to looking for amplifiers have you decided on what speakers, and really the speakers need to be able to work well in the room you are planning to use. Also if you are thinking of using a tube amp make sure the tubes are available and check at what price point, many of the vintage great sounding tubes are now megabucks, and no exporting of Russian tubes now.

OH!
I guess I need to study this more or get some advice from the brain trust here.

I am open to recommends.
thanx

Approx what size room do you intend to use? How good is your hearing? Do a quick test on youtube search 10-15k hz and take a listen. Unless it is a really large room some smaller speakers like Totem Model 1 or Merlin TSM are a really good starting point, excellent detail and they do surprisingly good low frequency. There are many others similar and reasonably priced on the used market. If you need more low frequency better to add a small sub.